Cold
by Dr-Lemona
Summary: Weren't you in love with her?"...Sometimes it isn't as easy to answer that question.
1. Chapter 1

Hello. It has been so long now. So many things have occurred, but now it's time to get back to writing.

Disclaimer: Mai-Hime and related belong to Sunrise.

* * *

"Weren't you in love with her?"

Hollow eyes look up from the center of the sports section of the local paper. Today is a Saturday, and it is currently 32 degrees outside, exactly. The puddles that melted from yesterday's milder temperatures have now frozen over again, but the coffee shop is warm and inviting with a fuzzy glow that draws the patrons in like moths to a flame. After all, they are there, braving the cold weather to sit in the cushioned seats and drink in caffeinated warmth from heavy ceramic mugs.

"I mean, weren't you? Like a long time ago."

A pause, followed by a small sip of coffee.

"At least, I thought that was it."

The eyes go back to the sports section, followed by the small exhalation of breath through the nose. This conversation is supposed to be over before it started, yet the voice refuses to cease and desist.

"Oh c'mon. You gotta let up just a little bit. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

The sports section isn't very interesting, especially in this slow season. She looks up once more from the newspaper but this time sets the stack of papers down next to a steaming mug of coffee. She hates coffee, thinks it is absolute sludge, but it fits the drivel she has forced herself to read for the past few hours now. She finally fixes the source of all that incessant _noise_ with a level look from those hollow eyes of hers, and she finds a pair of jade-green eyes look back without a hint of shame.

"Well?"

She shakes her head and idly wonders whether or not to leave the shop. But today, today feels like a different day. Today doesn't look like a "leave the shop and have this conversation happen all over again tomorrow" day. She idly runs her fingers through the bangs of her hair and lets out a small sigh.

"I feel like this sort of conversation should be held at a bar, not in a coffee shop," she says tersely.

Her partner nearly falls out of the seat. She can't help but smile at the reaction.

"... You've seen her again, haven't you?" she asks, her voice so soft that it is almost unheard.

"Well uh..."

Her partner takes a few moments to straighten up in the seat. Glossed lips are pursed shut in momentary thought, but she doesn't have too long to wait. The one thing she knows flawlessly was that she didn't have to wait long for her partner to speak again.

"... How exactly would you like me to answer that question?"

She raises an eyebrow at this question.

"You're willing to lie to me?"

Her partner squirms in the seat.

"No. I don't think I could with those eyes of yours boring into me like that."

Slim fingers nervously weave into thin strands of auburn hair and the pixie-like figure of Yuuki Nao shifts in the seat once more. But this time she isn't nervous, only dreading the continuation of a conversation she herself came up with. And those eyes that face her are quirked in soft amusement that sinks into the hollowness ever so slowly. Nao's lips twitch at this observation and she makes her decision.

"You should have seen her. She was alight in fire and flame, in her element. Racing through the streets like a demon was chasing after her heels. Of course she won. But it was so crazy last night, the police came a lot faster than expected. There was a lot of chaos and hell, even I had to book it."

Nao pauses, waiting for a reaction. A twitch of the brow is all that greets her.

"You know, Fujino. You're a tough one to crack."

Lips quirk ever so slightly and Nao isn't sure what to make of it.

"I'm sure I am. But that's neither here nor there."

Fujino Shizuru takes a sip of the black sludge beside her and eyes the coffee mug in mild disdain before setting it down. Nao picks up her own mug and pauses, cradling it between her hands.

"But you've never answered my question."

"The one you've been asking for weeks on end?"

At Nao's nod Shizuru decides to sigh.

"Do you think I'm a cold individual?"

Nao frowns at this question. She has seen this woman sitting before her alight in flames, once. Swinging a weapon of death back and forth in a trance—allowing hellfire to rain along with her fierce devotion. Cold? That would be an odd way of describing one Fujino Shizuru. She is manipulative, hiding behind a mask that threatens to creep up on unsuspecting individuals. She is small smiles shared between cups of tea and the fineries of ceremony. Would that be considered a cold thing? Nao isn't so sure, but since she has been the one outside looking in for so long maybe the glamor of gold isn't worth the sacrifice after all. She doesn't feel jealous of the regal individual sitting across from her, even with her impeccable clothing and refined features. She doesn't feel sorry for her, either, but she would probably never admit to it. But Shizuru is the one waiting, now, and Nao swallows more coffee in order to collect her thoughts.

"Well... no."

"Oh?"

Nao is surprised at the soft response.

"Oh?" Nao repeats. "Well I mean, what else am I supposed to say to that? It's a weird question. I don't have much to say other than yes or no. And you're not a cold individual."

"I see."

Nao isn't sure Shizuru does, but she fails to argue this point as Shizuru returns to her paper. She doesn't wait too long, though, when Shizuru sets the paper down again and puts her mug on top of it.

"Let me tell you something."

Shizuru draws in a slow, steady breath in order to collect her thoughts. She waits, and then it begins.

"She was never satisfied with face value and the happy lies that the rest of us seem to love to pile down on each other. Maybe it was better that the world was going downhill as it was? Maybe this Carnival should have gone down the way it was going to go before our deus ex machina moment? I'm not sure, myself. All I know is that with a sense of horrible selfishness... I was content with dying. How many people can honestly say that out of all of us?"

"People who are looking to die," Nao countered swiftly. "Which you aren't now, I hope."

"Ara, no. Not anymore, anyway."

"But then what does this have to do with the two of you? The stupid thing is done and over with."

Nao rubs her forehead in agitation.

"I just don't understand you, Fujino."

And now Shizuru looks at her in renewed interest.

"I mean... you two were supposed to stay together."

"Supposed to?" Shizuru repeats.

She manages a soft laugh.

"Forgive me for laughing but is this supposed to be a joke?"

Nao isn't quite sure what to think at this moment. This conversation is quickly going to a place where it cannot be retrieved from. Nao decides that enough is enough, at least for today.

"Alright, fine. Laugh all you want, I'm out of here."

She shakes her head in mild disgust and leaves a small pile of bills on the table. Without another look back she shrugs on her coat and stomps out into the dreary cold.

A residual gust of cold air hits Shizuru's face and she closes her eyes to take in the sensation. After a moment she too stands up and puts on her coat, neatly tucking in her long scarf and popping the collar up before placing several bills down next to the abandoned cups of coffee. As she steps out of the coffee shop the frozen wasteland that stands out in front of her beckons with gnarled branches of the dead trees that litter the streets.

"Oh, Yuuki-han," she breathes. "I never wanted you to see this side of me. One was enough, and now I've managed to let someone else in."

Her thoughts form idle clouds of steam that disappear quickly into the gray skies above.

And it all comes back to her as the roar of a motorcycle shooting past jars her from her thoughts. Shizuru tucks her hands in her pockets and follows the black motorcycle's streamlined figure with unreadable eyes.

"Mm... it seems to be about that time of year, isn't it."

Her car isn't too far from the coffee shop, and it's a thing of beauty. Not a lot of Porche 911's sit around the streets of Fuuka, after all. She settles in the leather seats and grips the steering wheel comfortably as she carefully weaves her way from her spot on the street and into the road proper. An hour of driving later sees the silver car safely arriving to its intended location. Shizuru steps out from the car and looks out into the turbulent waters beyond the guardrails that currently seperate her from it. She looks down, glances at her watch in the process, and closes her eyes as a blast of cold sea air hits her face. It is a bitter embrace but she allows it to hold her for a moment.

"Hello, Kuga-san."

The waters beneath her seem to churn less at the sound of her voice. At least, she likes to tell herself this.

"I wonder, Kuga-san, if you had seen this coming. If your gamble was actually going to pay off. It's hard to imagine what was going through your head as you drove down this road so haphazardly."

She pauses to peer back at her car, safely parked out of the way.

"I'd imagine it was rather frightful."

Shizuru allows herself a small smile before returning her gaze out towards the waters. They glisten with a greenish light, something similar to the emerald eyes she used to stare at so admiringly.

"I wonder how often she visits here. I'd imagine at least once a year, with flowers in hand and a new story to tell you."

She grips the railing with both hands, feeling the frozen metal sting at her fingertips.

"The truth is, I wonder if those stories are enough for her. She races out there with the wind at her fingertips and a song of fire in her eyes, and they burn so much more fiercely now that I am not around. People around us tell me that it's wrong, that I should have fought more."

She pauses to collect her thoughts.

"I always seem to wrap myself up in things that I cannot win."

The waters below her seem to shimmer a little more brightly, almost as if to console her. Shizuru hunches her shoulders slightly, allowing herself this tiny moment of vulnerability.

"I always wondered who was holding onto who near the end there. She is a very strong individual, Kuga-san. Always so alive, unlike me I suppose."

Shizuru looks up at the graying skies for a second.

"Weren't you in love with her? I was asked this today. I'm sure that I should have said yes. At least, I suppose that is the correct response. But it's a little more dense than that, I'm afraid."

She touches the center of her chest, palm against sternum, cradling the area for a silent moment save for the rise and fall of the tide.

"There is this thing locked away inside of me. I'm sure you've felt it before. This sense of panic that fails to go away. It is like a clock ticking away in the back of my head, reminding me that there is so much to do and not enough time at all. She used to calm me down, and I used her like a crutch even when my legs were far from broken. I needed to get away, not her. I needed to stand on my own feet again, to be my own ruler. I want to make sure that I can live without extraordinary circumstances following me wherever I go."

She straightens and sighs.

"I'm not quite sure when that will be. But for now she is too wild and free and I am too dependant on that fire that is inside of her. And she knows this, I'd imagine, otherwise she wouldn't have agreed to this."

She offers a hesitant chuckle.

"I'm sure that you would not approve of her behavior, Kuga-san, but no worries. I shall continue to watch and listen, and hopefully she will be alright save for a few scratches here and there. Rest well."

With that, Shizuru nimbly pushes herself from the railing and allows the momentum to spin herself around towards her car. But now a pair of fierce emerald eyes pins her to the spot and she forgets to breathe for a few seconds.

"Found you."

The voice that reaches her ears is unnaturally gruff, as if the speaker had not spoken in a while. But Shizuru smiles at the sound of it.

"Ara, so you did."

A gloved hand finds its way towards straight black locks of hair that are tousled this way and that with the winds that buffet around them.

"How have you been?"

Shizuru closes her eyes.

"Surviving, I will say. And you? You look well."

"I guess I can say the same."

The conversation grows quiet and soon they are stuck staring at each other with unsure expressions. What now?

It is Natsuki who speaks first, and her words are slow, weighted.

"They... They don't have to understand you."

Shizuru frowns at that.

"I'm sorry?"

Natsuki clears her throat and shifts her weight from one foot to the other. She is not being nervous, Shizuru finds, she is merely trying to find the correct words. And that is perfectly fine for her, she realizes.

"They don't have to understand you," Natsuki repeats, a trace of gruffness gone. "Because I do."

Shizuru isn't quite sure what to say, but there is a slow ticking in the back of her head that has now stopped. It is an odd sensation, this clock stopping in her mind.

"You will work through what it is that is holding you back. And you will be a different person because of that. But that's okay."

Natsuki takes in a deep breath.

"I love you. But I think I have fallen in love with who you used to be, not who you are now."

Shizuru's smile is small, but it is honest, and Natsuki finds herself mirroring the smile.

"And I love you, but I think I have fallen in love with who you could be, not who you are now," Shizuru replies. "It is funny how we know each other so well."

"Do you think there is a chance of us being together? Even though we know this about each other?"

It is not asked hopefully, nor is it asked cynically. It is just a question, but it still threatens to pull on the floodgates that hold in the sadness of Shizuru's heart. Natsuki knows this, and it shows in the sad light of her eyes, but she needs to ask. If not for herself, then for Shizuru. She feels as if she owes her that much, at least.

"Are you asking me if I still hold out on hope?" Shizuru whispers.

It is unintentionally harsh, and Natsuki cannot help but cringe.

"Hope doesn't have an expiration date," Shizuru continues, "Neither do love and affection. But patience and fortitude unfortunately do have an expiration date. Humans are not built to hold out forever."

"I know."

"Then... what are you asking from me?"

Natsuki walks towards her and ends up standing a foot away from her. She grasps onto the railing with both hands, much like how Shizuru faced the waters only a few minutes before she arrived.

"I don't believe in constraints, in concrete terms," Natsuki says slowly.

She turns and faces Shizuru.

"Therefore I can't ask you to wait for me."

Shizuru finds her throat to be curiously raw as she digests this statement. But Natsuki isn't finished.

"I know that you will. You would wait even if I told you to forget about me. And you would never allow me to turn around and allow myself to be chained by you. It's almost admirable how patient you are with me despite everyone else thinking you've given up on me."

She reaches forward, hesitates, and quietly takes off her right glove. Her exposed hand easily finds Shizuru's hand, and for a moment they hold hands in silence.

"I know that you will be able to push through this panic of yours. And when you do, I hope you'll have me. I can't promise you that I'll be the person you think I can be, but I hope you'll have me just the same."

Natuski manages a small grin, catching Shizuru off guard for just a second.

"I'm an idiot, Shizuru, I know this. I wish I could drop down to my knees and tell you that everything would be okay if you could just stay with me. I'm sure that is what's expected of me. But I'd rather not lie, and I'd rather see you with that fire back in your eyes again."

Shizuru stares at their hands.

"I'm not sure I will be the same, if I find that fire once more."

"Neither will I."

Natsuki shrugs and she takes in a breath.

"When you were alight in flames, swinging your weapon around and riding on top of Kiyohime, you were unstoppable. Invincible. You could have taken the Carnival easily, even if Mai put up a fight. But you threw it away for me. The wild card, the one who wasn't supposed to make it that far. You carried me, Shizuru, and you got so unhinged by me you even forgot what you were fighting for. And to this day that fire has yet to come back."

Her voice hitches, now, and Shizuru looks up in mild confusion. Confusion turns to shock as she sees tears fall from those stoic eyes.

"I can't ask you to surrender anything more to me... You were so close to me, you were there for me so much, that you almost don't know how to do anything else for me. So I understand. I understand your hesitation and the blood on your hands. It's never going to go away, and I can't tell you it never happened and let's start all over again. We don't have the luxury of a second chance."

She runs her arm across her eyes in one rough motion and she takes a deep breath.

"Get better, Shizuru. Get better, even if it means we aren't meant to be together."

With that, Natsuki lets go of her and seemingly is carried away by a rush of wind. Shizuru barely notices the roar of the motorcycle even as it speeds out into the open road.

"_Weren't you in love with her?"_

Shizuru stares back at the open waters once more.

"Oh yes... very much so," she responds to the open air and fathomless depths.

"_Well?"_

Nao's voice seems to mix with what she imagines would be Natsuki's mother asking her this strange question. Shizuru has no answer, only a smile that could not be described in words. With a heavy pull of her heart she turns and walks towards her car.

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AN: I wonder if I should continue. y/n?

Cheers.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again. Just putting up another chapter and waiting for responses.

Mai-Hime and related belong to Sunrise.

* * *

**II**

The phone always tends to ring at the worst opportunities.

When you need to get the laundry...

When you're in the bathroom...

When you've just started cooking dinner...

And in the case of Kuga Natsuki, it begins to ring in a shrill J-pop tune as she is busy burying her knuckles into the face of a man nearly twice her height and easily three times her weight. He takes a blind swing in response, which she neatly ducks under considering she can easily fit under his armpit when they stand side-by-side. She pauses to allow him let go of the momentum of his punch, watches the man slump to his knees, and plants a foot onto his collarbone to quickly shove him down to the ground. He fails to put up a fight, instead choosing to slump over and play dead briefly which is excellent news for her. The ring-tone is driving her nuts and she makes a mental note to strangle Yuuki Nao the next time she sees the delinquent running around town.. Through her murderous thoughts the phone is still ringing and the corner of her lips twitch as she massages the knuckles of her right hand. She gives it another five seconds and the man beside her groans almost in annoyance. Annoyance? Natsuki gives the man a smart kick in the ribs.

"I'll have you know that I didn't program this ring-tone in," she says in an almost conversational tone.

The man says nothing in response, now allowing Natsuki to fish her phone out of the front pocket of her jeans.

"Yo."

She looks down at the body next to her feet and she nudges it experimentally with the toe of her sneakers.

"Yep, he's down for the count."

She winces at the torrent of yelling that cascades into her ear.

"Okay, look here. It's not like he wanted to come quietly, so I kinda had to soften him up a little."

A pause.

"... Oh no, that ain't fair at all! This is some bullshit, you never told me that roughing him up was going to end up costing _me_ money! You better remember that I'm picking up the slack that _you_ decided to load on me for tonight!"

An aggravated groan punctuates the end of the conversation and Natsuki shoves the phone back into her pocket. A reedy sigh escapes her lips as she surveys the damage done, first to herself. Her hand will heal by the morning, although it would probably be a little sore for a few days at the least. Her attention then spans over towards the more unfortunate of the two. The man isn't going to wake up anytime soon, and she is in no mood to go spelunking through his pockets in order to at least find some cash to make up for what is supposedly her mistake. Robbing someone blind is messy in her opinion. She ultimately decides to let the man sleep off his injuries. The longer she stays, the more likely she will get caught, and it would take more than a pretty penny to bail Kuga Natsuki out of jail.

Her musing mind and fast feet bring her to a spacious rooftop, the reconstructed rooftop of Fuuka Gakuen. At the recognition of her new settings her auto-pilot shuts off and she breathes for the first time in relative peace. She shoves her hands into her pockets and kneels down at the edge of the rooftop, piercing the night sky with those cloudless emerald eyes of hers. Fuuka is a sleepy town, as usual, but one can never be too careful when the sun goes down. She watches the night silently, an unmoving gargoyle dressed in jeans, a modest t-shirt, and a leather jacket with a collar fringed with white fur. The cold fails to bother her anymore even without the presence of the wolf-child that used to glimmer in the darkness of her mind. Indeed, even her breath fails to mist in the subzero temperatures as she wordlessly views the town from her perch.

She isn't the first to rediscover these abilities that were thought to be lost forever with the exit of their Carnival. After all it is Nao who gleefully skipped around telling the others that she was not out of a job. On the contrary she is nearly bogged down by the abrupt increase in opportunities. Those creepers who shamelessly lust after her are still tied up in impossible knots, writhing in their inevitable shame of being discovered. So on, and so forth.

What good is there to have abilities and be unable to use them properly? Natsuki for once is in agreement with Nao over this sentiment despite the hesitation the others showed from this revelation. It doesn't really matter what the others think. Besides, it is all Natsuki wants to do now. Her brains will lie forever more with the science and math textbooks laid aside in her apartment, brimming with logic and equations, but her hands will never stop twitching until they are exposed accordingly. This feeling can only be quenched by one thing, and it is this thing that causes Natsuki to wear the darkness like a favorite cloak that has just been returned. She is now the watcher over the destitute and the punishment sent for the unworthy. It is a strange thing to label Kuga Natsuki as a hero, but there is really no other way to name her current occupation.

The wind whistles through her hair and she closes her eyes for a second. The wind always carries fickle messages. Some days it carries the endings and beginnings of wistful conversations spoken between couples. Some days it carries the screams of injustice and Natsuki listens to those the most fervently. But today the wind carries with it nothing but a calm silence. Natsuki once mistook a silent wind as a message of peace.

Peace, written through violence. And it is such a thankless occupation. Natsuki can feel her muscles groan in protest as she thinks on this. The wind slowly stops blowing, giving Natsuki nothing to work on. But it is times like this where Natsuki tends to settle on one thought, and one thought only.

She just wants to go home.

Home? But where on earth is that?

Crimson eyes flit into her vision and she finds herself smiling despite the growing cold in her heart.

"Oh... I just wanna go home, sometimes. Is it too much to ask?"

The night sky is silent in its musings. She remembers earlier today, that fateful meeting on the rail that failed to save the life of her mother. She understands, she goes through the motions, but those hollow eyes that stared at her earlier today cause her to bite her lip and ball her hands into fists.

"They don't have to understand this... they don't have to understand us."

She seems momentarily placated by her own statement.

She is a warrior, always has been. Even when thinking of past lives she always imagines herself to be something of a soldier, following a mission and fighting on her own terms, but always for something she believes in. It is one of the few comforting thoughts that allow her raging heart to still and her nerves to calm down.

"This school, this town, I'll watch over it. I'll watch over it until you're stronger again."

She leaps from her perch in a glorious arc, blue and black seemingly racing towards the stars only to be brought back by force of gravity. Gravity is merely a nuisance to her as her feet land squarely on the ground, the slight crouch only implemented to absorb shock. She looks up and stares at the school's clock before offering a small salute in acknowledgment. Her smile is almost playful despite the severity of her mission.

"I promise... Kaichou."

* * *

Natsuki is not alone in her vigilante ways, nor are her reasons out of the ordinary. It is the Sister who is several continents and only a heartbeat away who is struck down first, several months ago. They receive the notice of her death in the mail and are at once staring at each other like they are rivals once more. It is not to blame one another for the death of their comrade, but in order to silently measure each other up. There is going to be another battle. The deadly dance of death has resumed its song, and the participants have been asked to join together back in this dance floor of carnage. And this time there will be no deadline before the end of the world occurs.

This thought alone occupies the mind of Tokiha Mai as she sits in the still darkness of her—their—dorm room.

She is used to this sitting and waiting business. Natsuki is never back when she says she will be. But the patrols take longer now that their numbers are scarce and alliances are lost in the tides of confusion and outright refusal to revisit the past. So far it's been a tame affair, just a few punks here and there that need to be taught a lesson—that they would vastly prefer being left alone. Natsuki seems to be the only one with a clue on what is going on and why they keep being targeted, but it does not settle Mai's conscience even if she is privy to the information. As the de facto winner of the Carnival, it is she who should be outside patrolling the streets in order to protect her home, not the wild card who would rather do nothing but race her motorcycle against the wind. But Mai's hands have abstained from violence for a long time, now, and the blood lust has left her violet eyes with each passing winter day.

She looks over at the wooden box on the table beside her. With a soft frown she grabs the box and opens its contents. A pair of golden handcuffs gleam in the dimly-lit dorm room, and for a second she traces the dragons' heads that adorn the locks of the handcuffs. With a sigh she shuts the box and puts it back on the table, refusing to look at it.

The handcuffs arrived several days ago in an unmarked box, dropped off at the front door. Natsuki of course is still suspicious of the package, but Mai seems more unnerved than she over the contents of the box itself. The handcuffs have no obvious hinges, no key to unlock them should they accidentally be used, and the overall design is a bit too ancient for comfort... much like their weapons in the past. Mai shudders.

She is not fit to be their leader. They all know that. Frankly she is surprised they haven't turned on her first.

But it is Mai who Natsuki dutifully reports to every morning when she finally arrives, tired but still so full of vigor that Mai can only wonder where it comes from. Then comes the interesting leftovers of their once seemingly limitless powers. It is winter, after all, and Natsuki will never be as strong as she is now while the temperatures dip below the freezing mark. When summer begins to show its face, then it will be Mai's turn to shine through the beams of sunlight that cut through this dark and dreary cold. But for now she wonders if summer will ever come before whatever it is they are watching for will finally show its face.

The handcuffs seem to smirk at her thoughts, writing them off as outrageously foolish.

Haruka and Yukino have already spent days tinkering over the device in question, but the open mouths of the dragon-locks seem to only laugh at the futile efforts. Their experiments stopped when Haruka threatened to take a hammer to the handcuffs, but even with that threat paid in full the handcuffs had yet to yield its mystery to the waiting crowd. So the laughing dragons with ruby eyes continue to sit in their box, relatively undisturbed while Yukino agonizes over search results into the wee hours of the morning. Mai has no idea how Yukino manages to sit herself down in front of a blinking screen for so long over something so fruitless—she easily gets a headache just looking at the closed box.

The door opens as quietly as it can, but Mai's ears pick up the small squeak that never fails to betray it at the last second. Immediately her senses, dulled as they are by the weather, kick into overdrive and she unconsciously grips a pen left on the desk. The plastic warms immediately to her touch, but a blast of familiar cold air hits her face and she drops the pen, failing to notice the soft indents of her fingers against the softened plastic. But Natsuki notices, and she raises an eyebrow in the darkness. Her eyes carry an unearthly glow to them, but they are mirrored by violet orbs that look up at her.

"I told you that you didn't have to stay up, I can report to you in the morning," Natsuki says, breaking the silence with her usual gruff tones. "The information isn't going to change, not too much anyway."

"Did you find anything?" Mai asks in the stillness.

Natsuki takes off her jacket wordlessly, tossing it against the couch that Mai is sitting on. She twists her arms, feeling the joints of her elbows pop in response. It has been a rough night, and now her body is ready to relax. But she keeps her mind alert as she eyes the kitchen for a moment.

"I did. Turns out he's an ex-worker for Searrs. It seems we are too precious for them to leave us alone."

Natsuki walks towards the kitchen and flips on a light, momentarily blinding Mai with the sudden flash. A brief rummage in the fridge reveals a bottle of orange juice, and Natsuki finally remembers to bring a cup back with her. If it is one thing Mai cannot stand, it's that Natsuki tends to ignore social etiquette in the house and drink straight from the carton. But it must be something serious, now, to prompt Natsuki to remember not to piss Mai off. The older girl catches Mai's unsure glance and more or less nods.

"It's not looking too good," Natsuki admits after drinking half the glass. "Nao's doing god-knows-what in the city and I can barely even keep in contact with her, so I'm kinda up shit creek without a paddle in terms of manpower. Going after targets one at a time is going to arouse their suspicion quicker, and they'll have enough time to formulate a counter-attack. We need to think of something else, a better plan."

"And with Akane-chan and Midori-san outside of Fuuka, we've had little luck in contacting them and telling them what's been going on," Mai adds as an afterthought.

Natsuki offers no reply for a moment, choosing instead to refill her glass.

"Like I said, we're kinda out of luck now."

"... And Fujino-san?"

Natsuki stops drinking from her glass, fixing Mai with a steady look.

"... What about Shizuru?"

"I mean... wouldn't it be easier if she helped us?" Mai asks, her voice taking on a pleading tone that even she hates to use.

"It's not that simple," Natsuki argues in a tone that clearly tells Mai to drop it.

"But—"

"Just drop it."

Natsuki gets up abruptly and puts the carton of juice away, flipping off the light to the kitchen when finished. They are washed in darkness once more as Natsuki stares down at her sitting roommate who has now gone back to staring at the box.

"We are going to take care of things, until all of us are in a condition to band together and fight," Natsuki says firmly, allowing no argument to pass. "Until then, we are going to watch and wait."

Mai offers none, instead staring pointedly at the box. Natsuki finally allows herself to look at it.

"We still don't know what to do with that, do we?" Natsuki mutters softly.

"No, I'm afraid not."

"Hm... another mystery, I suppose."

Natsuki sighs and shakes her head, mumbling something about having a good night. Mai squints over at the blinds, noticing the first rays of sunlight starting to peak through the haze.

"Yeah... go get some sleep, Natsuki."

Mai stands up and stretches. It would do no good to dwell too long on the thoughts that were now ebbing away with the sight of the sun. She raises the blinds and takes in a deep breath, noticing not for the first time the burning red mark in the skies above. It is not the sun, for the sun is still a slowly-rising disc in the horizon. No, this is an angry red mark, a star that burns fiercely in the heavens above, only to be seen by those who seek it out. Natsuki pointedly refuses to look at it, thinking that she mght lose herself in the fiery mark. And this time, not even Mai can quench the burning feeling at the pit of her stomach. Her eyes slowly travel down the length of hallway Natsuki has just taken to go to her room.

_Oh... it would just be so easy._

The blood rushes to her ears, drowning her thoughts with the sound of her own heartbeat. In her reflection her eyes are taking on a curious glow that burns from within. It seeps out from her heart and towards her hands. Her fingertips are now glowing with a white light as if someone has flicked on a flashlight and shone it through the skin, only this glowing is surely stemming from within her hands. Just as soon as it registers, however, so does her conscience, and she roughly shakes her head to rid herself of the sensation. Her fingertips cool but she does not trust herself to touch anything just yet, instead settling for balling her hands into fists.

"... It's getting harder to keep this down."

Her own words sound tired to her despite having had a solid eight hours of sleep.

"... Definitely a lot harder, now."

* * *

AN: I am trying to establish a timeline without making it too set in stone. I want to say it's been at least half a year after the Carnival.

As for the plot... eh. It'll probably weave itself into something resembling a plot within the next few chapters. It's not going to be a rehash of the Hime system like Winter's Road. If anything it could be more of a story of human emotions set up against inhuman forces.

Hopefully by the next chapter Shizuru and Natsuki's relationship will be better-understood. Hopefully.

Cheers.


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